Investigation of BiFeO₃-BaTiO₃ lead-free piezoelectric ceramics with nonstoichiometric bismuth

Abstract

BiFeO₃-BaTiO₃ (BF-BT)-based lead-free ceramics are promising piezoelectric materials exhibiting high Curie temperatures and excellent electrochemical properties. In this study, 0.70Bi_1+xFeO₃-0.30BaTiO₃ (B_1+xF-BT, x = -0.01, 0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were successfully fabricated via the conventional solid-phase reaction process. Crystallographic structure, microstructure, dielectric, impedance, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties among different compositions were comprehensively investigated. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that all compositions exhibited a typical perovskite structure with a cubic-rhombohedral phase mixture. The grain size of ceramics tends to increase as the Bi₂O₃ content rises. In particular, the backscattered electron images and energy dispersive analysis revealed prominent core-shell microstructure within grains. Notably, the BF-BT ceramic containing 1% excess Bi displayed the maximum $$\ \large d_{33}$$ ~217 pC/N and $$\ \large d_{33}^{*}$$ ~243 pm/V accompanied by a high Curie temperature of 515 °C. The findings demonstrate the potential feasibility of BF-BT ceramics in the field of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics.

Keywords

Piezoelectric ceramics / lead-free / BF-BT / bismuth / nonstoichiometric

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